Feb. 16--A coalition of elected leaders, community activists and attorneys filed a petition Tuesday asking that a special prosecutor be appointed to take over the prosecution of Laquan McDonald's killing and investigate whether Chicago police lied about what took place at the shooting scene.
The petition contends that a political alliance between Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez and the police union creates a conflict of interest for Alvarez and should disqualify her from prosecuting Officer Jason Van Dyke for McDonald's slaying.
The petition comes as Alvarez is in the midst of a tough re-election fight. Critics have been calling for her resignation since she charged Van Dyke with first-degree murder just hours before a judge forced the release of a disturbing video of Van Dyke shooting McDonald 16 times.
Nearly 10 elected officials joined the Rev. Marvin Hunter, McDonald's great-uncle, in seeking the special prosecutor, citing "an unprecedented crisis of confidence" in Alvarez and her office. The petition contends that Alvarez should be disqualified from involvement in any current or future investigation into allegations of misconduct by Chicago police.
Many of those who attended the news conference at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law have been longtime critics of Alvarez. Ald. Howard Brookins Jr., 21st, has supported Alvarez's leading challenger, Kim Foxx.
But one of the lawyers who filed the petition, Locke Bowman of Northwestern University's MacArthur Justice Center, denied any political overtones to the request for an independent prosecutor.
"This has nothing to do with Kim Foxx and nothing to do with the current political process underway," Bowman told reporters.
But Alvarez disagreed, saying in a statement that it was "more than a little coincidental" that the petition was brought so close to the election by supporters of her opponent.
Alvarez denied she has any conflict of interest and said her office has been working hand in hand with federal authorities for more than a year to build a "meticulous case" against Van Dyke.
She also defended her record on charging police, saying she has brought charges against 96 law enforcement officers in her seven years in office.
"This case is no different -- Jason Van Dyke should be prosecuted by experienced Cook County state's attorneys using the resources gathered during the thorough joint investigation with federal authorities, Alvarez said. "It is clear that there is no legal conflict in this case, and prosecution will proceed to hold Jason Van Dyke accountable for the murder of Laquan McDonald."
The petition will go before Criminal Court Presiding Judge Leroy Martin on Feb. 26.
The petition alleges that Alvarez has a poor track record when it comes to charging police officers who have committed crimes and that even when she has brought charges -- such as against Cmdr. Glenn Evans and Detective Dante Servin -- the trials were botched and led to acquittals.
The petition also cited several recent fatal shootings by police officers and questioned why Alvarez did not bring charges. Among them were the 2011 fatal shooting of Flint Farmer by Officer Gildardo Sierra, who was profiled by the Tribune for his involvement in three shootings over a six-month period.
Also mentioned were the fatal shootings of Cedrick Chatman and Calvin Cross, two black teens who were each fleeing police at the time they were fatally shot.
Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty to McDonald's killing on the city's Southwest Side in October 2014. Police dashboard-camera video shows Van Dyke firing on McDonald as he was walking away, not lunging with a weapon as police alleged. McDonald, 17, had PCP in his system and was holding a knife with a 3-inch blade.
Critics have attacked Alvarez for waiting more than a year before filing criminal charges against Van Dyke.
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